‘Where can we find hope?’: your questions about the US supreme court’s voting rights decision answered

In April, the supreme court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais struck a massive blow to the Voting Rights Act, eliminating a key provision that gave minority voters representation in Congress.

Within days of the decision, Republican-led states in the south moved to redraw congressional maps to erase majority-Black districts. Some of those maps have already gone into effect ahead of the midterms.

Guardian reporters Fabiola Cineas and Adria Walker have been on the ground talking to Black voters, affected congresspeople and activists fighting back in the south.

Fabiola and Adria answered your questions about their reporting and experiences. Read the Q&A below.

How will the supreme court ruling affect Democrats in the midterms?

chippin_out asks:

How badly damaged are the Democrats coming into the midterm elections with all of these court rulings? I honestly think we won’t even win the House any longer.

Fabiola:

There are so many variables here. Democrats are currently favored to win the House, but the redistricting war has definitely added a lot of uncertainty and somewhat narrowed that path. Historically, the party out of power gains seats during midterms, and Trump’s low approval rating can certainly help Democrats.

Last year, Trump started pressuring Republican states to gerrymander their congressional maps to help the party hold onto its slim House majority. Several states have redrawn those maps since last year, and the redraws after Callais will give Republicans more districts. Democrats responded by redistricting in California to gain more seats there.

But Democrats were also dealt a blow in Virginia when the state’s supreme court rejected a voter-approved congressional map that would have given Democrats four seats in the House. Democrats can win but maps will continue to change in the coming months, and Republicans are changing election rules to maintain power.

Is there anywhere in the south that won’t be affected by this decision?

clash_by_night asks:

I live in Louisiana and am currently trying to leave for so many reasons. I’d love to head to California or even leave the country, but my family thinks I’m overreacting and won’t support that. I at least convinced my husband to leave Louisiana for Texas. I’m from Texas, so I know it’s pretty bad, too, but seeing people like Talarico gives me hope, at least more hope than I see in Louisiana. My question is, do you think there is anywhere in the south that won’t politically be a flaming dumpster fire?

Adria:

I’m also a southerner (I live in Mississippi and I’m from Mississippi).  I think southern politics are … southern politics. What I’d highlight in this moment is the number of people – across the region – who are mobilizing. Immediately after the supreme court decision, I spoke to people in Louisiana and Alabama. They’d already been making contingency plans for if section 2 fell.

Since then, I’ve talked to people in Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and Florida, all of whom are viewing this moment as an opportunity for positive change. At a rally in Alabama, I met folks who said that they had never considered themselves to be that political, but they believe it’s important for them to get active now. I think it’s important to highlight how people are responding and getting involved right now.

Will this motivate voters of color to turn out in November?

Jtsabu asks:

Based on your research and discussions with those affected, do you have any strong indications as to whether impacted PoC communities are feeling more motivated to take a stand in the wake of recent court rulings, or is there a greater prevailing sense of disenfranchisement that might result in a weaker-than-expected turnout for the midterms?

Adria:

Each of the rallies, voter mobilization calls and town halls I’ve been to have been largely organized and attended by Black folks and allies who are explicit about how these decisions are impacting people of color.

I think this is a galvanizing moment.

Right after the supreme court decision came down, organizers with whom I spoke affirmed the importance of rallying people and getting them to the polls this November. In some ways, I think that lawmakers rallied them themselves. I’ve talked to people from across the region who were particularly unsettled by many southern states’ rush to redraw maps. Some people who have never voted before – some of whom weren’t even registered to vote – said that they felt spurred to action specifically because of how quickly southern states acted.

Still, it’s only June now. I’m going to be looking at how organizers are able to keep this moment and its momentum going through the summer to the fall. I think that will be a key point in ensuring that people turnout for the midterms.

Is there a generational divide among voting rights activists?

Competitive_Swan_130 asks:

Have you noticed a generational divide on either side of the voting rights fight in the south? Do younger activists on the left and right differ from older veterans in their strategies, frameworks, or what they believe they’re fighting for?

Adria:

There’s certainly a divide in some aspects. Many of the older people to whom I’ve spoken in the last couple of months were participants in the civil rights movement. At the time, they were the youth organizers. They were the ones creating new strategies and facing pushback from some older activists. Of course, the world has changed since the 1960s and the playing field looks a bit different now.

I have seen some younger people express frustration with older organizers. There’s a lot of ongoing dialogue between older and younger voting rights activists, as they’re having to figure out how to bridge this gap. Mobilizing young people in 2026 looks different.

The large rallies, however, are one way I’ve seen voting rights organizers affirm that this fight is intergenerational. The recent rallies in Montgomery, Alabama and in Jackson, Mississippi, for instance, included children still in primary school, college students and older people who are veterans of the civil rights movement. Ultimately, they share the same goal no matter their age.

What can Democrats do to fight back?

MountainMan2 asks:

We all know that southern voting rights are being ripped limb from limb. What are the state-level Democrats doing to combat this? Do they have a bold plan to fight against the racist oppression even when they lose power, or are they going to go quietly and hope for federal change? Is there any hope that they can do something to bring back equal voting rights?

Fabiola:

The Democratic legislative strategy for the south feels like the bleakest part of all of this since Democrats don’t control the legislatures in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, etc. We’ve seen counter-redistricting efforts work in places like California, but not in the south, where VRA districts are being erased and where Black voting power is being diluted.

I recently chatted with Bobby Singleton, an Alabama state senator who has been involved in redistricting fights for decades. He said his focus is on litigation, opposing any new maps Republicans present in the legislature, grassroots mobilization and working with Democrats across the south to turn out more voters, including voters who have never voted before.

In Alabama, Black people make up nearly 30 percent of the population, so they likely won’t ever have the numbers to control state politics due to racial polarization.

Some Democrats in the south are also trying to pass state-level voting rights acts and flip state courts. Federally, southern Democrats are advocating for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which could reverse much of what the supreme court has done to the VRA.

Why aren’t people in the streets?

Adventurous_Cap2751 asks:

Why haven’t people taken to the streets yet?

Adria:

I think in some ways they have. We haven’t seen a general strike or anything as massive and lasting as the Montgomery bus boycott yet, but we’ve seen lots of protests across the region. I covered “All Roads Lead to the South” in Montgomery and a subsequent protest in Jackson – both of which were attended by thousands of people. People have also protested in Louisiana, in Tennessee and elsewhere. They’re mobilizing in different ways, and we’re seeing a lot of intraregional organizing.

Where can we find hope?

gapipkin asks:

Is there any GOOD news?

Fabiola:

I appreciate this question, and it’s something I’ve asked several lawmakers in the past few weeks, including some of the ones who will lose their seats once maps get redrawn in Alabama. I don’t think I can sugarcoat how devastating the Callais ruling is. But in talking to lawmakers and activists, there are some things they told me that felt hopeful.

Grassroots efforts are surging! Civil rights orgs across the south have launched rallies and trainings in direct response to Callais, like the Black Voters Matter “We Got Us” campaign.  There’s also an upcoming John Lewis “Good Trouble Lives On” weekend of action in mid-July to register voters ahead of the midterms and bring organizers together to strategize on voting rights. The May 16 day of action showed how much energy and urgency there is in the wake of the decision.

I also think the fact that state courts are becoming the new battlegrounds for redistricting fights is good because it shows the system is working as it should. State courts and state constitutions can successfully counterbalance Scotus when it does something unpopular or unconstitutional.